5 Recipes You Can Make Over a Campfire

Photo: Taste of Home

Come summertime, our kitchen moves outside! Be it a backyard grill or a firepit in the woods, we can’t wait to go back to basics and cook over a live, roaring fire. If you’re heading out on a camping trip, bring along your trusty skillet, a hefty cooler, and a good pair of tongs, and try one of these great outdoors-approved recipes.

This recipe from Food & Wine is designed for a gas grill, but this technique lends itself well to a campfire. Make your butter before you leave on your trip, and then store it in your cooler. When it’s time to cook, assemble the hasselback potatoes, wrap them up in foil and then nestle them in the low-burning coals around the edge of your fire. Heads up: You will want tongs for this job!

The secret to these Campfire Nachos from Fresh Off The Grid is to have a sturdy cast-iron Dutch oven or deep skillet with a lid. The lid traps the heat inside, allowing the cheese to melt while the chips on the bottom get nice and crispy. This recipe relies mostly on shelf-stable canned goods, but bonus points for tossing some cilantro, scallions and a ripe avocado in the cooler for garnishing. Pro tip: Fry some eggs in a separate pan and serve them over the nachos for a Chilaquiles-inspired breakfast.

If you’re heading out on a fishing trip, then keep this clever recipe from Bon Appetit in your back pocket! After a long day out on the water, nothing is more satisfying than seared fish basted in a homemade compound butter and served over a warm bed of grilled potatoes and chorizo. For easy execution, make the compound butter in advance and keep it chilled in your cooler until you’re ready to use it.

Start your morning in the wilderness off strong with these clever Mason Jar Pancakes from Chocolate + Marrow. The key is to prep your dry ingredients and wet ingredients in separate jars before you leave for your trip. When it’s time to eat, melt the butter over the fire, pour the wet ingredients into the jar with the dry ingredients, seal, and shake away! No bowls, no whisking, no mess.

Ham, aromatics and a pound of dried navy beans are all it takes to assemble this crowd-pleasing stew from A Taste of Home. Before you leave on your hike, soak the beans in a pot of water. When you return, drain and assemble this soup over the fire. It’s easy and hearty after a long day, and it has a savory smokiness from the campfire and ham hock.